Even knowledgeable City Hall insiders know they're better off scratching lotto tickets than wagering on Boston politics. But if you must gamble in the 15-way horse race that is the September 22 councilor-at-large preliminary election, then it would be wise to bet that current Democratic officeholders Stephen Murphy and John Connolly will win two of the eight positions determined on that day (as well as half of the final four spots yielded by the November 3 election).

As for the rest of the bracket (which consists of nine Democrats, two Republicans, and two unaffiliated candidates — and, remarkably, just one woman), this is our attempt to separate the true wack jobs from the mere moonbat optimists, as Howie Carr might call some of the Obama-inspired idealists vying for at-large positions. Culling information from questionnaires, recent coverage, campaign literature, and interviews, we did our best to offer snapshots of a group that actually has several impressive candidates. We've divided the field into the current favorites, the hopefuls, and the long shots. Feel free to defy the odds, and make up your own mind.

Final four? Some of Boston's savviest political insiders were confident of one thing going into last week's preliminary election: the top four finishers in the at-large City Council race would not be the same quartet to actually win those four seats in November.

For Boston City Council Boston city councilors enjoy relatively high political profiles, but in reality they labor under the tight constraints of a strong-mayor system.

District 7 endorsement: Vote Tito Thirty-five-year-old Tito Jackson, a former economic development official in Governor Deval Patrick's administration, is the candidate most deserving of District 7's votes.

Sluts for justice On Saturday, Boston joins the national SlutWalk movement, demonstrating solidarity to fight "slut shaming," a common response to sexual violence.

No more Mr. Nice Council By announcing his campaign for city council, Michael Flaherty immediately unleashed the bitter side of Boston politics.

CZARFACE SOARS ABOVE THE CLOUDS | February 11, 2013 This week 7LES and Inspectah Deck drop Czarface , a full-length work of adventurous genius revolving around a metal-clad protagonist who feeds on destruction.

THE BPD ADDS INSULT TO INJURY | February 05, 2013 At times, this kind of decision makes you wonder whether the BPD is saving its best awards for officers who've been involved in the death of civilians.